Microsoft Surface Tablet Available For Pre-Order, To Be Shipped By Oct. 26

Microsoft announced that a special limited-quantity pre-order for Surface with Windows RT had been made available at 9 a.m. PDT on Tuesday. The announcement about pre-orders came after the company revealed the price and market availability details of its ARM-based Surface RT tablets.

Originally unveiled in June, Surface with Windows RT will initially be available in three SKUs: a 32GB version priced at $499, a 32GB version bundled with a black Touch Cover priced at $599 and a 64GB version bundled with a black Touch Cover priced at $699.

A variety of accessories will also be available, including Touch Covers in five vibrant colors — black, white, magenta, cyan and red — priced at $119. Customers will also have the option to purchase a Type Cover in black for $129.99. All of these are now available for pre-order from Microsoft’s website.

Surface will be available for purchase beginning Oct. 26, 2012, at all Microsoft Store locations in the U.S. and Canada, including in all 34 new holiday stores. In addition, Surface will be available for sale online on the same date in eight markets: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

According to the U.S. Microsoft Store, the $699 model and the $599 model of the device will be shipped by Oct. 26. On the other hand, the cheapest $499 model (without Touch Cover) is likely to be shipped within three weeks, suggesting that first shipments of the $499 model have already been sold out.

Here is the price list according to different countries (via The Verge):

US: $499 for 32GB no cover, $599 with Touch Cover, $699 for 64GB with a Touch Cover

UK: £399 for 32GB no cover, £479 with Touch Cover, £559 for 64GB with a Touch Cover

Germany: €479 for 32GB no cover, €579 with Touch Cover, €679 for 64GB with a Touch Cover

France: €489 for 32GB no cover, €589 with Touch Cover, €694 for 64GB with a Touch Cover

Canada: $519 for 32GB no cover, $619 with Touch Cover, $719 for 64GB with a Touch Cover

Australia: $559 for 32GB no cover, $679 with Touch Cover, $789 for 64GB with a Touch Cover

Surface With Windows RT: Key Product Information

Software: Surface with Windows RT comes with Microsoft Office Home and Student 2013 RT Preview, which includes Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote. (Final Office version will be installed via Windows Update when available. Click here for more information)